2019 Baby Name Trends Are Inspired By The Royal Family And Animals

Parents are taking creativity to the next level.

We're not even halfway through December, but Nameberry and BabyCenter have already made their predictions for the top baby name trends of 2019.

While the Kardashians and healthy foods fuelled name inspo in 2018, it looks like parents are now turning their attention over to the Royal Family, non-binary names, and even sneaker brands. Read on for the baby name trends that are predicted to take over in 2019.

Naturally, all the buzz about the royals will influence parents-to-be. According to BabyCenter, names inspired by the Royal Family are already on the rise. Louis — the name of the youngest Cambridge — jumped 17 per cent this year, while Meghan rose in popularity by a whopping 49 per cent.

No doubt this royal influence will continue in the new year, especially as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcome their first child in the spring. Royal babies are notorious for causing spikes in baby name popularity after all.

Animal names as middle names

Word names started gaining momentum in 2015 when a slew of celebs started choosing unique words for their little ones. Ashlee Simpson and Evan Ross named their daughter Jagger Snow; Liv Tyler and Dave Gardner chose the name Sailor Gene for their son; and Leighton Meester and Adam Brody christened their daughter Arlo Day.

This trend is predicted to pick up steam in the new year, but not with just any word names. Nameberry thinks parents will be particularly drawn to animal monikers. Zooey Deschanel famously followed this trend with her kids' names — Elsie Otter and Charlie Wolf — but the site notes that she was not the first celebrity to do this. It was actually actress Mariel Hemingway, who named her daughter Langley Fox in 1989.

Our favourite picks: Hawk, Fawn, Bear and Fox.

Love for sneaker brands

PeopleImages via Getty ImagesThere's a reason the name Jordan started to rise in 2018.

Sneaker culture is on the rise, and so too are names inspired by them. In 2018, Jordan, Max, and Cortez, which are all names of Nike shoes, started trending. Rival brand Adidas also saw their names such as Stan and Smith, start getting some attention, as did Chuck (from Converse) and Van (as in Vans).

Spiritual names over biblical names

d3sign via Getty ImagesParents are keeping things zen with this new trend.

Biblical names are classic, which is why some parents find themselves drawn to them even when they aren't religious. But since these monikers have been around for ages, moms- and dads-to-be might turn towards spiritual names as an alternative, Nameberry reports. The baby name site believes the trend is inspired by the recent surge of interest in yoga and meditation.

Considering zen names, such as Peace and Harmony, rose in popularity in 2018, according to BabyCenter, this new spiritual name trend seems like a natural development.

These are names that aren't immediately associated with either gender. Robin, Journey and Laken are a few good options, according to the site. These names differ from traditional gender-neutral names, since none originally started with one gender and then moved its association to the other, such as Charlie or James.